Researchers Grow Kidney-Like Organs in Laboratory

A human skin cell has been transformed into a kidney-like structure by a team in Melbourne

Researchers have grown kidney-like organs in a laboratory dish, the latest advance in the effort to bioengineer complex human organs for medical use.

In a study reported Wednesday in the journal Nature, the team described a set of experiments that transformed a human skin cell into a kidney-like structure about five millimeters across. It consisted of a dozen different cell types and displayed some of the intricate anatomy of a mature organ.